The problem: Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, two artificial food dyes that give the dish it's day-glo hue but also contain known carcinogens. In Europe, foods that contain Yellow 5 are required to carry a warning label, and the chemical has been banned outright in some countries, including Norway and Austria. In 2008, the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the FDA to ban eight different food dyes found in nearly everything kids like to eat today (even plain white marshmallows have blue dye in them).

"A lot of American companies use ingredients in the products they sell in the US that are no longer used, and are in some cases banned in other countries," Leake told Yahoo! Shine in an interview on Wednesday. "We were just appalled."

In the United Kingdom, Kraft's "Cheesey Pasta" comes in a red-and-yellow box—and doesn't contain artificial food dyes. Instead, the company uses natural colors from paprika extract and beta-carotene to create the dish's iconic color for British consumers.

Leake and Vani Hari, who writes the blog Food Babe and guest posts once a month on Leake's blog, 100 Days of Real Food, decided to launch a petition at Change.org, calling on Kraft to give U.S. consumers the same chemical-free formulation that they currently sell in the U.K. They racked up more than 18,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.

"McDonald's french fries has basic ingredients in the U.K.: potatoes, salt, and oil," Hari told Yahoo! Shine in an interview. "But here in the United States they use an ingredient that's an anti-foaming agent that's used in Silly Putty."

Betty Crocker cake mixes, Pringles potato chips, Rice Krispies, Starburst candies, and Diet Coke were among those that use artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives in the U.S. but leave them out of their European versions. Kellogg's strawberry Nutri-Grain cereal bars, for example, are colored with Red 40, Yellow 6, and Blue 1 in the United States but use beetroot, annatto, and paprika in their "soft bake bars" sold in the United Kingdom.

"These companies already have better, safer versions of their products formulated and for sale in other countries overseas," Leake pointed out. "In some cases, that's because their consumers demanded it. But nobody has done anything over here yet."

"These companies already have better, safer versions of their products formulated and for sale in other countries overseas," Leake pointed out. "In some cases, that's because their consumers demanded it. But nobody has done anything over here yet."

In the US I have found that when you try to bring this up with people, nobody seems to care at all, and certainly not enough to demand change. It's very frustrating.

the mcdonalds UK fry ingredient list is not right, they also use Dextrose and citric acid in the UK... but in the USA there is a lot more ingredients... the fries have a "glaze" on them made from beef flavoring...

There's no reason it should be, as Smarties don't have any artificial additives (colours, flavours or preservatives).

In the United Kingdom, Kraft's "Cheesey Pasta" comes in a red-and-yellow box—and doesn't contain artificial food dyes. Instead, the company uses natural colors from paprika extract and beta-carotene to create the dish's iconic color for British consumers.

This is what I find most interesting - that natural additives are used in the UK but not in the US. We saw the same thing with the Pink Slime scandal, where it was being used by McDonald's in the US but not in the UK; same with High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is used in the US but rarely in the UK. Then there's the dangerous use of growth hormones and antibiotics in US cattle, a practice illegal in the EU and other countries. Consumers need to be more vigilant and regulatory bodies need to be more effective. Companies basically do what they can get away with and apparently they can get away with more in the US.

This isn't restricted to the US, though. Regulators need to be responding to the latest medical information, like the recent research that links processed meats to cardiovascular disease, cancer and early deaths. Unhealthy products should be banned, taxed or include health warnings. If graphic health warnings are considered appropriate for smoking then maybe something similar should be considered for processed meats. There also needs to be more done to address lifestyle issues, as the EU—the UK especially—has failed to address the obesity crisis. The UK obesity rate is one of the highest in the world, yet it is still being tackled reactively rather than pro-actively.

Consumers need to be more vigilant and regulatory bodies need to be more effective. Companies basically do what they can get away with and apparently they can get away with more in the US.

Actually there's a another reason, lobbying.

The reason why HFCS and ethanol in gasoline is so prevalent in America is because of lobbying by corn farmers. Essentially the government uses our tax money to subsidize corn in order to keep them in business. The net result? The consumers suffer.

The reason why things that are illegal worldwide are legal in the US? Same thing, companies pay millions to get their way.

Hell look at taxes. Things like TurboTax, H&R block are non-existent worldwide but here in America tens of millions of people buy their products year after year in order to fill in their tax returns. H&R Block and Intuit spend millions to stop the Government from simplifying the tax code so that people keep having to buy their products.

Things won't change until lobbying is made illegal and people stop voting in politicians who care more about their pockets than the people who voted them in.